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Literary grave-robbing!

Row over publication of ‘lost’ Walter Scott works

A publisher has been accused of "literary grave robbing" after issuing two "lost" works by Sir Walter Scott.

And who might it be that has caused this "row" you ask??

It’s none other than…

MY SUPERVISOR!!

That’s right. My thesis supervisor might appear to be sweet, quiet, and the epitome of scholarly gentility–but deep down, he’s a rebel. Lock away your precious manuscripts, bar the doors to your libraries, and god forbid if you should try to preserve an error-riddled work by Walter Scott!

The Telegraph article that covered this breaking story explains:

"[Walter Scott’s] final manuscripts were written in 1831-32 after he suffered three strokes that affected his writing ability.

The deterioration in his health was said to be evident in both works, The Siege of Malta and Bizarro, which were riddled with elementary errors and spelling mistakes.

Until now they have never been printed in full because of concerns that they would sully the reputation of one of Scotland’s greatest writers.

When the author John Buchan read them in 1932 he remarked: "It may be hoped that no literary resurrectionist will ever be guilty of the crime of giving them to the world."

However, Edinburgh University Press has now published both works, after correcting them, in a combined volume. […]The volume has been edited for EUP by JH Alexander of Aberdeen University and Judy King and Graham Tulloch of Flinders University in Australia."

To read about the whole sordid affair, visit the Telegraph Article here.